


Starfinder

by StarryBurst (Forestfire34720)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Sad Ending, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-05-19 14:53:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14875874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forestfire34720/pseuds/StarryBurst
Summary: Sleep Cycle One, 13:26Well, today is the first day.We haven’t even been gone for 24 hours, and already I’m homesick. I don't want to be here anymore. Not that I really wanted to to begin with, but still.I’m sitting here staring at the stuff I was allowed to bring, and I can’t help but miss what I was forced to leave behind. The school, where every day I saw my friends? The dog park that Wiggles always used to love to run in? The forest trail I would walk along in the mornings? The home I've lived in for sixteen years? All of it, gone, forever. We’ve left it behind, just as we’re trying to leave the mistakes that led to this behind. All this, it's settled in now, and all I feel is empty and numb, longing for just one more day.I know, I know. I should be amazed, wowed, all of that crap. But I’m not. When I look at the window, at the black emptiness stretching out far beyond what I can see even in this blankness, all I can feel is sadness. And loneliness.Ten years. I’m going to have a long time to get used to this.





	Starfinder

 

**Sleep Cycle One, 13:26**

    Well, today is the first day.

    We haven’t even been gone for 24 hours, and already I’m homesick. I don't want to be here anymore. Not that I really wanted to to begin with, but still.

    I’m sitting here staring at the stuff I was allowed to bring, and I can’t help but miss what I was forced to leave behind. The school, where every day I saw my friends? The dog park that Wiggles always used to love to run in? The forest trail I would walk along in the mornings? The home I've lived in for sixteen years? All of it, gone, forever. We’ve left it behind, just as we’re trying to leave the mistakes that led to this behind. All this, it's settled in now, and all I feel is empty and numb, longing for just one more day.

    I know, I know. I should be amazed, wowed, all of that crap. But I’m not. When I look at the window, at the black emptiness stretching out far beyond what I can see even in this blankness, all I can feel is sadness. And loneliness.

    Ten years. I’m going to have a long time to get used to this.

    Ten more years until I see Dale again.

    I wonder how he’s doing? He must be bored, if the _Explorer_ is the same as it is here.

—Mark

**Sleep Cycle Two, 10:27**

    It still feels empty in here. And dull. Really, couldn’t they have added something other than gray steel--or is it titanium?--walls and yellow and blue lights?

—Mark

**Sleep Cycle Two, 19:13**

    God, food here tastes terrible. I know that they need to make the bare essentials for the supplies to stretch for all that time, but still, ten years of this stuff? This dry, flash-frozen nutrient slop that I’m pretty sure doesn’t qualify as food? Makes me almost wish I was back home.

    At least then I’d die with good food in my belly.

—Mark

**Sleep Cycle Three, 16:43**

    Ugh, I'm so BORED. The _Starfinder_ has NOTHING to do. I wish Dale was here. At least then I'd have someone to be bored with.

    I wish I was in the cryo chamber.

    Ten years until I’m standing on the ground again. Even if it will be on Korralon.

—Mark

**Sleep Cycle Four, 04:55**

    I can hear the engine working away every night. It makes it really hard to sleep. That’s why I’m awake at freaking 5 in the “morning”.

    I’m jealous of Olivia right now, snoring loudly a few feet away.

—Mark

**Sleep Cycle Five, 21:36**

    Well, Mom brought out the board games today.

    FINALLY.

    At least it's something to do besides sitting and staring at the same boring walls.

    But there's only so much Monopoly, checkers, tic-tac-toe, and Olivia screaming, “Sorry!” that I can stand before I break.

—Mark

**Sleep Cycle Seven, 22:57**

    Apparently, every seven days—sorry, _sleep cycles_ —we have to go to the gym to spend the awake part of our cycle there. I have to admit, I didn't want to go at first, but there's something interesting about the gravity in there. It quickly got annoying and exhausting, though. They say it's been increased, to “keep our bodies from breaking apart from prolonged exposure to space.”

    Whatever. I'm tired from having to heave and haul my deadweight limbs around when they’re triple the weight they should be.

    I’m going to bed.

—Mark

**Sleep Cycle Ten, 22:47**

    Jackpot! I found the games in here. The video games. Spend the last four hours blasting aliens.

    I guess the _Starfinder_ doesn't suck as much as I thought before.

—Mark

**Sleep Cycle Fifteen, 20:44**

    I found the cryo chamber today. It was in the bottom levels, and pretty freaky. Super cold, too.

    There were a bunch of tubes and pods. Lots of people were inside them. If not for the frost on the glass and the iciness on their bodies, I would think that they were just asleep. That’s the way they’ll be in ten years, when we finally arrive.

    I wish my family was lucky enough to have the money to be part of them. Then I wouldn’t lose the rest of my childhood to this journey.

—Mark

**Sleep Cycle Thirty-One, 01:03**

    Now officially (about) a month spent out here. I’m surprised I haven’t lost my mind yet.

    Surprise! Things look exactly the same at night!

—Mark

**Sleep Cycle Fifty-Four, 09:25**

    Christmas was yesterday!

    Nothing really special. They changed the food a little, made it a bit more flavorful, although that’s not that hard to do, considering how it tastes. The _Starfinder_ ’s lights had also been changed to red and green for the day.

**Sleep Cycle Ninety-Eight, 11:20**

    The fact that these breaks in entries have been getting longer is a testament to how boring this ship is. Nothing happens. Literally NOTHING.

**Sleep Cycle One Hundred Eighty-One, 18:42**

    See? Definitive proof. It’s been almost a hundred days since last time.

    You know, playing video games is fun, but when it’s literally the only thing you can do, it gets boring after a while.

    On the plus side, I heard a rumor that someone is making a new game. Puzzle game, I heard. I guess they have the time. It’ll be nice to have a change.

    Heck, I probably could learn to code and make my own game and we still wouldn’t be a quarter of the way there.

**Sleep Cycle Two Hundred Forty-Nine, 20:01**

    It's July 9 today. Or, it would be, back home.

    My birthday.

    It's been a long time since we’ve had anything to celebrate. It was… nice, I guess. They tried their best, but really the only thing they could offer me was a little more of the stuff they call food on this ship. I'm not surprised. We have thousands of people here, maybe even a million. We certainly don't have enough supplies for everybody to each have a little something special on their birthdays.

    I kept up a smile for the whole day, but it was hard. All this was doing was reminding me of what we had left behind and what we would never have again, at least not for another 9-ish years.

    I never mentioned it. I don't want to make my parents feel bad, and Olivia has it tough enough.

    But the moment I had some privacy… I cried.

**Sleep Cycle Three Hundred Sixty-Five, 10:40**

    Anniversary day. It’s now exactly one year since the _Starfinder_ blasted off to head to Korralon.

    I miss Earth.

**Sleep Cycle Five Hundred Twenty, 23:17**

    I spent the whole day playing a new puzzle game. It was kind of stupid, but the puzzles were okay, and it was something different for me to devote my time on.

    Maybe I should pick up a hobby. I’m sure there’s something around here.

**Sleep Cycle Seven Hundred Thirty, 13:12**

    Two years now.

    Ugh.

    Well, I’ve got eight years to master the cello. I’ll probably to have advanced to a bow by then. Or at least not sound like a dying elephant whenever I pick it up.

**Sleep Cycle Eight Hundred Two, 11:51**

    I’ve gotten used to hearing the engine hum at night. So last night, when it suddenly stuttered and broke its normal rhythm for a second, I got really freaked out. Still, it seems to be back to normal, and Captain Manger hasn’t said anything about it, so I’m sure it’s fine.

**Sleep Cycle One Thousand Ninety-Five, 17:34**

    Three years now. And not even a third of the way there yet.

**Sleep Cycle One Thousand Two Hundred Three, 18:19**

    We went all around the ship and finally added some color, after like way too long. Not much, just gathered some spare stuff to hang up on the walls. Whoever designed the _Starfinder_ (and probably the _Explorer_ and all the other ships too) really didn’t understand just how mind-crushingly dull and boring this is.

**Sleep Cycle One Thousand Four Hundred Sixty, 13:52**

    Four years.

**Sleep Cycle One Thousand Six Hundred Seventy-Five, 16:16**

    The cryo chamber broke this morning. The captain has no idea why.

    They’re working on fixing it. In the meantime, the former sleepers are living with some other families. I’m worried about what this might lead to. What it means if a part of the ship broke.

**Sleep Cycle One Thousand Six Hundred Ninety-Nine, 01:45**

    Not good.

    I woke up again to the engine sputtering.

    I would really prefer not to hear that, especially when we’re 4-5 years away from both Earth and Korralon.

**Sleep Cycle One Thousand Seven Hundred Sixty-One, 04:41**

    The engine shuddering is becoming is becoming distressingly often. There’s only been two nights this month where it hasn’t, and it becoming clear that it’s happening during the day as well. People have noticed. The ones who had been sleeping in the cryo chamber have talking about leading riots. Dad has been listening in. I’m worried about that.

Nothing yet, though. And hopefully nothing ever.

**Sleep Cycle One Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty-Five, 07:38**

    Five years now, but… I don’t think we’re making it to year six. I don’t think we’re even making any progress now.

    People aren’t going to wait much longer for this to get fixed.

**Sleep Cycle One Thousand Eight Hundred Thirty-Three, 14:37**

    I’m scared.

**Sleep Cycle One Thousand Eight Hundred Thirty-Six, 16:45**

    I asked Mom and Dad if we were going to die. They said no.

    I don't know if I believe them.

**Sleep Cycle One Thousand Eight Hundred Forty-Two, 9:59**

    I asked if we were going to die, again. They said no, again.

    I know they're lying.

    Olivia was nearby when I asked. So I didn't call them out on it. But I could see the fear in their eyes. I’m pretty sure Olivia did too. It was impossible to miss.

    I'm going to die. We’re all going to die…aren't we?

**Sleep Cycle One Thousand Eight Hundred Fifty, 14:33**

    Some people committed suicide today. They were scared they were going to die anyways. Said they wanted it to be on their terms. Everybody is avoiding the place where it happened.

    Captain Manger called all the rest of us together for a meeting. He told us that his guys were working round-the-clock to get the engine going again, and that it would start up soon. It would all be okay, if we would please just be patient.

    I don't believe him. I hear the engine every sleep cycle, when I go to sleep, every day, when I’m just lazing around in bed. I hear the workers cursing and struggling to fix it. I know they’ve declared the likelihood of them being able to fix it almost zero percent.

    I'm trying to hold out hope, but… I don't think this is going to get better.

**Sleep Cycle One Thousand Eight Hundred Eighty-Six, 22:46**

    This is it.

    The ship is failing. _Starfinder_ ’s engine is long dead. People are freaking out. The plants they used to produce our food, they’re dying, because the ship stopped providing what they needed. Food is running low, especially with the added pressure of supplying those rich pampered jerks who were sleeping barely six months ago. There was almost a mutiny today, though I’m not sure it would really help to have people inexperienced in running a ship in charge.

    It’s not fair. Five years of travel, and for what? For us to slowly starve, or get killed by panicked and scared people? Captain Manger sent out an S.O.S. signal, but no rescue is coming. I can do the math. The closest ship would be the _Explorer_ , but it would take at least a year until it would find us, what with our dwindling power. I doubt we even have a month, with the current rate of deterioration. And our signal’s gonna be too weak soon.   

    Besides, I don’t think they would have enough room and supplies, even for who’s left on here. And I’d rather Dale not starve to death because of me. Bad enough that my whole family’s dying. I’m not having my best friend follow them too trying to help.

**Sleep Cycle One Thousand Eight Hundred Ninety-Seven, 12:07**

    Violence is rising, and today they tried to kill the captain. He’s in the medbay, but I don’t doubt that they’re going to try again. Dad helped them. I don’t know him anymore. I don’t think I have for a long time, ever since things first started going downhill.

    I’m scared, but I need to stay strong. For Mom, for Olivia. Especially Olivia. I want to keep her happy as long as possible. But we’re all probably going to die soon anyways.

**Sleep Cycle Six Thousand Nine Hundred Eighty-Seven, 12:48**

    Rest in peace, buddy.

—Dale

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first original work that I’ve actually completely finished, so let me know what you think! Feel free to give me any advice on how to make it better too.


End file.
